Teamsters President Sean O'Brien is calling on Amazon to provide better pay for its union members and “negotiate” just days before the holiday rush.
The Teamsters strike against retail giant Amazon is likely to continue and expand in the days leading up to the Christmas break, according to union president Sean O'Brien.
“Santa Claus is going to be disgusted by the way Amazon has behaved over the last several years. They don't respect their workers. They don't respect who makes them successful, and we're going to hold them accountable,” O'Brien said Thursday. :Cavuto: Coast to Coast.“
“We've tried to sit down and bargain with Amazon, the people we represent, who signed most of the cards. And Amazon has consistently refused. They've even asked the (National Labor Relations Board) to “What we're doing is illegal, which is not illegal. So we have no choice,” said the head of the Starz team.
Thousands of Amazon workers, organized under the auspices of the Teamsters union, went on strike at 6 a.m. Thursday after the company's “repeated refusal to comply with the law and deal.”
about 10,000 Amazon teams in seven centers in Skokie, Illinois; New York City; Atlanta; San Francisco; Southern California is participating in the “largest strike” against the trillion-dollar company in U.S. history, the union said in a statement. Workers from other centers are ready to join them.
Teamsters CEO Sean O'Brien said Thursday on “Cavoto: Coast to Coast” that “Santa would be disgusted by Amazon's behavior.” (FOX Business)
The strike comes after the Teamsters claimed Amazon ignored a Dec. 15 union deadline to negotiate new contracts for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions.
“These people are out there 365 days a year being exploited by Amazon,” O'Brien said. They are beaten on the job… They don't get paid. They get paid through a scam which is a third party rental agreement, which is a joint employer. They get minimal benefits, and that's a shame and shouldn't be allowed to happen, and the company is worth $2 trillion.
O'Brien is urging Amazon to negotiate in good faith, noting that attacks will continue to expand not only in the US, but also outside Germany as early as “today or tomorrow.”
Two people were arrested for disorderly conduct, FOX Business' Madison Allworth reported from the protest line in New York.
Amazon workers in New York City are among those organized by the Teamsters union in cities across the United States to go on strike on Thursday. (WNWY)
I called the mayor of New York. The head of the union explained that our members have the right to protest according to the constitution.
“But that shows the extent of it Amazon influence in New York. Does that mean they made a promise to the police? “I don't know that,” O'Brien said. But the fact is that we have a legal right. We should be allowed to do this.”
He also called on top New York Democratic leaders to show their faces on the picket line: “Right now, nobody has walked the Amazon picket line. We have Joe Biden still in office. Chuck Schumer and (representative) AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), which is right in their backyard. Go out and show these workers how you support them.”
The No. 1 issue the Teamsters are said to want to resolve is employee pay and benefits.
FOX 5 NY reports that the team members conducted raids on seven Amazon facilities that were strategically timed less than a week before Christmas, a critical period for e-commerce.
“I want to make sure they treat these employees with dignity and respect, make sure they pay the wages and benefits they're entitled to, and follow the same rules as any other company doing the exact same job. (We have an industry standard contract with DHL, O'Brien said, and they must adhere to these standards.
Amazon says the Teamsters union is “deliberately (misleading) the public” because they do not represent Amazon employees and drivers, company spokeswoman Kelly Nantel told FOX Business in a statement.
Nantel also said that the company “does not expect any impact on our operations” and that “Tamsters have actively threatened, intimidated and attempted to join Amazon employees and third-party drivers, which is illegal and has been the subject of multiple pending charges of unfair labor practices against the union.”
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Liz Bentley, president of Liz Bentley Associates, joined “FOX & Friends First” to discuss her response to the strikes, the impact on holiday deliveries and how Walmart is fighting theft.
Amazon spent $17 million in 2022-2023 on this issue Fight the union. Just think, if they invested that money in their workers, I mean the naysayers can say whatever they want. There will always be naysayers, no matter what. At the end of the day, we represent workers and workers who have to put up with abuse from Amazon or any other big company. So we will continue to fight.” O'Brien replied.
“I'm gonna jump the picket line there too. So I'm in combat gear, man.”
Elizabeth Pritchett of FOX Business contributed to this report.